MT First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze

Over a year ago, we sampled a Korean-built, Euro-spec Cruze and declared it the car that must save GM. Since then we've been bombarded with rhetoric about how THIS global compact will be different, conceived from the start as a world-beater that will sell in the U.S. as an aspirational compact (oxymoron alert!). We've been assured the proof of the pudding would be in the tasting, and today the chefs have called us into the kitchen to lick some beaters as the chefs add the final pinches of tuning calibration and dashes of refinement before the Cruze comes out of the oven this September.

On hand for our taste test were two competitive benchmark vehicles, the COTY-winning Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla (both 1.8-liters), and three 1.4-liter turbo Cruzes: a 2LT (upmarket trim on the chassis setup 70 percent of North American Cruzes will get), the fuel-economy-optimized Eco, and the top-shelf handling-optimized LTZ. Our drive was limited to a six-mile loop of mixed pavement surfaces on GM's Milford Proving Grounds ride-evaluation loop.

Before we share the savory sensations, let's recap some basics. First, this Cruze -- the fourth to launch worldwide -- shares most of its major hardware with its global doppelgangers. Anything on our Cruze can be retrofitted to any other global Cruze if market conditions dictate, but by and large ours will be the most highly refined. Differentiators vis-a-vis the least refined (Chinese-market) version include an acoustic-laminated windshield and an extensive package of sound-deadening materials (many of which are shared with the Euro-Cruze diesel, like expanding foam in body cavities, a mastic-sandwich firewall, five-layer headliner, triple door sealing, etc.)...

I remember seeing the concept photos and the car looked amazing but the production looks absolutely boring. With cars like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima around the Cruze is going to be a tough sale.

MarenLBC:I remember seeing the concept photos and the car looked amazing but the production looks absolutely boring. With cars like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima around the Cruze is going to be a tough sale.

I think the looks are a hit but the engines. If all they are going to carry is the 1.4 turbo and the 1.8 I just don't see a point in the 1.8. For the LTZ shouldn't it have a more powerful engine? Anyway should be interesting to see the comparos for the new Focus and the Cruze.

I've said it earlier and Im going to say it again. The Cruze already looks terribly dated to me. GM should stop annoucing their cars 3-4 years before they come out so they can feel fresh by the time they release them.
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MarenLBC:I remember seeing the concept photos and the car looked amazing but the production looks absolutely boring. With cars like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima around the Cruze is going to be a tough sale.

I second that!

All of the pictures leading up till now have looked awesome, somewhat masculine and elegant and now its profile reminds me of the general contours of the cobalt. It's now just kinda ... blah.
__________________"What hump?"

MarenLBC:I remember seeing the concept photos and the car looked amazing but the production looks absolutely boring. With cars like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima around the Cruze is going to be a tough sale.

chakotaa:I second that!

All of the pictures leading up till now have looked awesome, somewhat masculine and elegant and now its profile reminds me of the general contours of the cobalt. It's now just kinda ... blah.

that's what happens when you take a Corolla as inspiration.
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The Cruze was always BORING since it came to production!!!
___________________________________________ Heaven: where the police are British, the cooks French, the mechanics German, the lovers Italian, and it is all organized and run by the Swiss. Hell: where the police are German, the cooks British, the mechanics French, the lovers Swiss, and it is all organized and run by the Italians.

The design doesn't seem to age well now that I keep looking at it. But that being said this is miles better than the Cobalt, especially interior wise.
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If they ever get around to putting the 2L sidi engine in it then I might bite. Otherwise, I think I might prefer the new aveo or focus...
--"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking." -- George Patton

UK Version of the Cruze is a total rip-off lacks all the excellent features found on the Dodge Caliber, sensible instrument dials, tyre pressure monitor compass, chilled drinks locker etc. The UK version does not have the Watts Z linkage, hence lousy ride over small bumps & ridges. Only 6 airbags instead of 10 etc. see fuller description under Chevrolet Cruze.